When taking over his first brick and mortar location, Jake Hardy wanted to make sure he got the best till system for his business.

Number Six owner Jake Hardy was in the business of helping retailers fine-tune their online and ecommerce operations. As an experienced retailer, buyer, and manager, he knew what worked and what didn’t in retail. So when he came to start up his own retail store, he wanted to make sure every aspect was optimized for success.

Having a point of difference and using technology to better serve customers are at the heart of what Number Six set out to do.

“We wanted to liven up shopping and invite people to enjoy clothes and retail in the same way we do,” says Jake. “Shopping is something we all have to do, so why not have fun, look good, and enjoy doing it?”

Jake needed seamless inventory management and a tool that worked with leading apps he used, like Xero. He also understood the need to capture customer data to be able to keep customers updated with new arrivals and offers.

“Vend offers a stock management system that tracks data and sales and lets us open new revenue streams - which really frees up our time to focus on the personal touches and details we love.”

Jake Hardy, Owner at Number Six

The Solution

Number Six chose Vend for the advanced reporting, allowing them to drive growth in their business and to be the central hub for their inventory.

After a long search, including a number of alternate product trials, Jake decided Vend was perfect for Number Six. And it wasn’t just because of the tech: Vend’s local office and ex-retail team were big selling points.

“For us, Vend offered easy stock management and point of sale that we could access from anywhere and grow with. In the end, the key for us was the support we received, compared to a few competitors we tried.”

Choosing Vend enabled Number Six to manage all inventory through their brick and mortar outlet - the largest part of their business.

“Having such an easy stock management system has meant that data capture, reporting, stocktaking, and opening new sales channels can all be done a lot quicker." Jake notes. "With such an easy-to-use system, it simply means we don’t have to spend so much time on these tasks. We can report quickly and accurately and concentrate on bigger projects.”

One key part of the solution is the addition of a second tablet to their POS hardware setup, which runs Vend’s Customer Facing Display app and allows for customer-data capture.

“In-store, we use two iPads for our point of sale. One is for customers to enter their email for a receipt and to sign up to our mailing list, and the other is our sales register. For our inventory and reporting, we use a Mac. It’s simple, but it’s all we really need and it works extremely well.”

And the integrations with leading apps were the clincher: “Vend has offered integrations with Shopify and Xero that have saved us time and allowed us to keep closer track of accounts and cash flow. Vend has allowed us to grow faster and to focus on growing.”

“We now take half an hour on Monday to do a retrospective trading report on the previous week. This is information that would have taken a day a week to collate before. Our growth is now trackable and lets us beat our targets more often than not!”

Jake Hardy, Owner at Number Six

The Result

Better information, focusing on growth, customers coming back: it all adds up to 40% YOY growth.

Since choosing Vend, Number Six have streamlined their operations, leading to business freedom.

“The ease of Vend has helped us to focus on creating an enjoyable retail environment, as well as on running events, doing lookbook shoots, and buying from around the globe.”

By focusing on the things that set the business apart and that make the store unique (like exclusive brands and overseas trips to source the best ones) - and by taking the photos and telling the stories through Instagram and online advertising that brings in new customers - Number Six has been able to drive the business forward.

“With less admin to worry about and a great wealth of data, Vend has allowed us to become a more efficient business and to focus on growing sales and the business as a whole.”

It’s all added up to 40% year on year growth, and Number Six are only just getting started. The retailer is planning a second outlet - a task made easier by the fact that opening another outlet in Vend (with all the same product information and setup) only takes a couple of clicks.

“We highly recommend Vend, and we’ve already got a few of our friends’ and neighbors’ businesses using it. The service is great; it saves a lot of time and hassle and enables you to grow.”